Fudge Drops

OK, again, another Pinterest recipe. Sorry folks, don't mean to be repetitive but Pinterest is just my "go to" when I'm looking for a recipe. And who can pass up a recipe for Brownie Cookies. Not me, that's fo show! This "Fudge Drops" recipe promised a lot. But, it came from the King Arthur web site and thus far, King Arthur recipes haven't let me down so I was willing to plunk down the serious bucks for some serious chocolate and give this recipe a try. Expectations were high to say the lest. See how it turned out. . .

Soft Batch Brown Sugar Cookies

A couple of months ago I bought a jar of coconut oil at Trader Joe's. It was sitting out on an "impulse" display and I got suckered. It looked interesting. Plus, I'd be reading and hearing all sorts of bru-ha-ha about the miracle of coconut oil. I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for: to wash my hair, to try oil pulling, as a dietary supplement, cook with it, make a face scrub or bla bla bla. Apparently there are about a million different things that you can use coconut oil for and if you believe everything you read, it'll pretty much cure whatever ails you. WOW, this stuff is a miracle in a jar. I'm gunna save the world with this stuff, or at least my family. Look out, I'm armed with coconut oil, and not afraid to use it. . .

And then it sat, for about 6 months, in my pantry, unused. I didn't save the world, or my family. We're the same old family we were before I bought it. And, ya know, that's my life sometimes, lots of good intention and no time for follow through. Whatcha gunna do? 

Then, on Pinterest, I came across a beautiful picture of Soft Batch Dark Brown Sugar Coconut Oil Cookies. So I retrieved the coconut oil from the far corner of my pantry, dusted it off, checked the "best by" date (whew, just in time) and decided to try making these cookies. . .

Nazook

A couple of weeks ago, I was perusing the bakery department at my local grocery store when I came across "Nazook". What the heck is "Nazook"? I'd never heard of it, but it looked good. Anytime the bakery department has some sort of rolled filled goodie, I can't resist. They looked a lot like Rugelach, which BTW, I love, so I assumed I'd like these as well. Did I buy them, no, of course not, I immediately ran home and Googled Nazook. Seriously, if store bought is good, home made HAS to be better. 

What I learned is that Nazook is a traditional Armenian pastry. A buttery yeast dough filled with more butter and sugar and sometimes almonds. Butter and sugar and almonds? I'm in! So I Googled a bit more, read a handful of recipes (because I don't have an Armenian Nana to show me how), watched a couple of videos and decided to give it a go. . .

Almond Horns (Mandelhoernchen)

If you've been with this blog for a while, you may have read my "Mandelhoernchen Melancholy" post. It was a disaster and let's leave it at that. After my Almond Paste post a couple of weeks ago and the success of both almond paste recipes I was ready to give Mandelhoernchen another go. I used to get "Almond Horns" from the Freeport Bakery in Sacramento when I worked down town. They were a real treat. So almondy, so crispy and just slightly sweet. The perfect mid-morning pick me up. They were more than a cookie but not quite a pastry, existing on a culinary plane all their own. For many years I erroneously searched for "Almond Crescent" recipes but only turned up a variety of almond shortbread cookies. That wasn't it. I had forgotten that they were called "Almond Horns". Who wudda thunk? Then I discovered the G Bakes blog and Mandelhoernchen and found my long lost love. After exhaustive research on Mandelhoernchen and Almond Horns, I came up with the recipe below and it's a WINNER. Or at least I think it is, check it our for yourself.

On a side note, my daughter and I discovered only just last month that Whole Foods sells these in their bakery in the self service cookie case. Only they don't dip the ends in chocolate. Shame on you Whole Foods, leaving off the chocolate. But honestly, they're pretty good. I'll head back there to snap one up, fo show!

Baked Churros

One thing I haven't quite figured out for this blog is timing posts for the holidays. Getting holiday recipes tested, photographed and posted in time for all of you to make them for the current holiday. Time just gets away from me and the next thing I know, I'm posting a Thanksgiving pie recipe in December. Too late! So far this year I've missed it on Valentine's Day and Easter. OK, room for improvement, I know. When I saw this post for Baked Churros on Pinterest I decided to end my losing streak and author a timely post for Cinco de Mayo.

Aside from the fact that I'm a good week away from Cinco de Mayo and this recipe is fitting, I couldn't pass up the chance to make churros. I really love churros but I hate to fry food at home. Notice I didn't say I hate fried food, I said I hate frying food. Big dif. I love fried foods but they are just such a pain to make at home, so messy and too much clean up. So a baked version of the churro seemed doable. Really it's pretty much a choux paste like is used in a cream puff or eclair. It just doesn't expand quite as much but the technique is basically the same. Check it out. . .

Chocolate Dipped Espresso Shortbread

Shortbread cookies are yummy!

Coffee flavored anything is yummy!

Chocolate dipped anything is yummy! (Well, within reason.)

So Chocolate Dipped Espresso Shortbread is YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY!

Did I mention these cookies are yummy?

I absolutely adore shortbread cookies, all varieties, all variations. They're just so buttery and tender and simple and delicious. This recipe used to be in my regular Christmas Cookie list (minus the chocolate dipping) and I made them every year. I really don't know when they got dropped from the list and why I forgot about them. Maybe it has something to do with getting married, having kids, and loosing my mind. Maybe? Maybe not. Anywho, I was trying to organize a sloppy folder of recipes last week and this gem fell out of the pile. Couldn't believe I'd forgotten about them so I had to make them immediately to redeem myself. Would they be as good as I remembered? Uh, YEAH!

Giant Cornflake Crunch Cookies

It's funny how things start to "trend" on the old world wide web. One person "Pins it" or "Blogs it", or "Tweets it" or "Posts it" or  "Instagrams it" or simply mentions it in an email and suddenly its "Trending". On Monday no one has heard of it and by the time you mention it to a friend on Friday, it's old news. And when I say "it" I mean anything. Celebrity gossip, world news, recipes, crafts, you name it. So what seemed to be trending the last week or so was recipes from the Momofuku Milk Bar. Which apparently is a very popular restaurant/bakery in New York. I'd never heard of it before. But it's no secret that, on trending web topics (and popular New York eateries for that matter), I'm often the last one to the party. But at least I got to the party. And what I found was a interesting, eclectic bunch of recipes. Ones with all kinds of wierdo ingredients that I couldn't help but want to try. So I did. I started with the Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies, and next on my list is the Compost Cookies (I can't resist a cookie recipe that calls for potato chips). Check out the cornflake cookies:

Gingerbread House Cookies

Last Christmas I spotted these cookie cutters in the holiday section of my local grocery store. I had to have one. I couldn't wait to make mini houses and I love the simple genius and efficiency of this cutter. Even though it was only $5, I'm a cheapskate and I was on a tight budget last holiday season (who isn't) and was trying to be really good about impulse purchases. So I passed on them. Then a week or two past Christmas, I was browsing through the clearance bin of that same store and discovered there were 3 of these cutters left, priced 75% OFF. OK, that was it, I couldn't resist. I snatched them up. Then sat a waited, a whole year, to try the recipe, post it for all of you AND. . . give the two extra cutters away. Yep, two lucky readers can have one of these all for themselves. Wahoo. But first, check out how cute these little houses turned out. . .

Holiday Ribbon Cookies

And so, it has begun. The holiday baking season. So let's start out with something totally easy that looks pretty impressive: Ribbon Cookies. If you've been reading my blog you may have read my post for Candy Corn Cookies. They were great and I told you I'd be fiddling around with the recipe. And so I have. I basically took that same recipe and changed the colors from yellow and orange to red and green. I also simplified the layering of the dough. Just smoosh it into a pan rather than rolling and shaping and bla bla bla. Easy peasy. An added bonus is that you can make the dough a week or two ahead, layer it in the pan and then freeze it until you are ready to bake the cookies. Kind of spreads the holiday baking frenzy out over a couple of weeks. So what are you waiting for, get your Holiday Bake on. . .

Butterscotch Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

This picture doesn't do these cookies justice. They look kind of boring, just brown lumps sitting there on a boring white plate. I probably should take my food styling up a notch. This picture is testament to that. What this picture doesn't tell you is that these cookies are. . .de-lish-us! Prob my favorite version of oatmeal cookies. Because, really, that's all they are, just regular old oatmeal cookies, recipe right off the canister. But. . .I like to ditch the raisins, my kids hate 'em, and add pecans (you know that's my fave nut.) and butterscotch chips (I love, love, LOVE, butterscotch chips.). My husband usually groans when I use butterscotch chips in chocolate chip cookies, says they're too rich. No complaints when I add them to oatmeal cookies. Thumbs up all around. I also ditched the cinnamon from the regular recipe, it just doesn't work with the creamy mellow flavor of the butterscotch so, it's outta there! Lastly, the key to a soft chewy oatmeal cookie is to let the dough ripen. And when I say "ripen" I mean "chill out", and when I say "chill out" I mean, let the the dough sit in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight. Trust me, it's essential. Let's get this party going. . .

Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

Hello, long time, no blog. Sorry, lots of summer activities and vacation and no time to cook. No cooking = no blogging = unhappy me. But, I'm back and firing up the oven and stove again and ready to try a bunch of new recipes that I've collected over the summer. So get ready, here we go. . .

I realized that it had been quite a while since I made homemade cookies and that it was time to fill the cookie jar. So, I headed to my fist internet stop for recipes, Pinterest, clicked through a dozen or so cookie recipes and decided to make Chocolate Cherry Shortbread. Partly because they looked different and mostly because I love cherries and chocolate. As I was gathering the ingredients the recipe seemed oddly familiar. And why? Probably because I've made a similar cookie on this blog. HA! You may have seen it here. I decided to go ahead and share this recipe because it is somewhat different. No almond flavor and no two flavors of dough. This cookie is basically a similar flavor combination but the texture is more dense and shortbread like. It's is also a LOT easier to make, fewer steps. The only tweaks I made to the original recipe was to skip the chocolate drizzle and add sprinkles to the outside of the cookie. It was mostly and aesthetic choice, because I liked the look of these cookies. Sprinkles or not, give these cookies a try. . .

Macaron

I love Macarons. Seriously, what's not to love. I fell in love first with the look. Just Google it and you'll find tons of beautiful pictures of gorgeous pastel macarons. Lined up in rows in shop windows, boxed up with tissue and ribbons. I guess it's the graphic designer in me but I'm a sucker for presentation. Then I tasted them and oh la la. The crispy crunch of the outer shell that gives way to a chewy, almondy center. Pair that with a light smear of buttercream, ganache or jam and it's sheer bliss.

What adds to their mystique is the complicated preparation. Not that the ingredients are so rare, they're pretty simple. It's more the precise steps it takes to combine them in just the right way. Fail at any one step and they won't turn out. So, needless to say, I've been intimidated. Heck, down right scared to try and make them. I've been working up the courage for over a year, reading hundreds of recipes and techniques, tips and tricks to try and de-mystify this culinary conundrum. Then, through the miracle of Pinterest, I stumbled upon this blog: Not So Humble Pie. Here the author totally breaks down the process with pictures and in depth explanations. The trouble shooting guide at the end is priceless. After reading through the entire post I finally found the courage to give Macarons a try, and I did. . .

Crispy Date Bars

If you want to be the hero at the next pot luck, then bring these bars. Seriously, you'll have instant celebrity and people will offer their first born child for the recipe. They're that good. I mean really, they are THAT good. Crispy, nutty, sticky, sweet, cream cheesy, shortbready treats. Oh, you say you don't like dates? Hmmmm, have you tried them? Have you tried them in these bars? I think not. I know, dates lean a bit to the exotic side of the dried fruit world. Kind of sticky and weird with a peely papery skin that looks pretty gross. Take a leap of faith and try one. Just close your eyes and pop one into your mouth. Chewy, creamy, snappy and sweet. Delish!

I'm not entirely sure where this recipe came from. I've been making them since before I had children, since before I got married, since before I moved out of my parent's house. I probably started off making them for my Dad since two of his favorite things are rice crispy treats and dates. For the longest time, I had a handwritten copy of the recipe and then somewhere along the way I typed it up and that's the copy I have now. I suspected that the recipe came from a book at some point so I Googled it and my search landed me squarely on the Rice Crispy Cereal recipe site. So as not to make angry, a corporate giant like Kellogg's, I'm going to link to their recipe and just show you how they're made. One note though on their recipe, I totes recommend you use pecans instead of walnuts. I also don't add the optional milk into the icing. But that's just me, do what you like. . .

Gluten Free Brownies

If you read my post for Cauliflower Pizza Crust then you read my rant about gluten free recipes. How they never deliver on their promises. How the finished product tastes awful and usually has a weird texture. How they use a bunch of totally obscure, expensive ingredients. How I don't generally like them. Well this recipe fails beautifully to fit that norm. It may be gluten free but that's all it's free of. The taste and texture are great. The ingredients are pretty simple. Except for the coconut flour, which is pretty affordable, you probably already have most of the ingredients. The best part is that you'll never be able to tell they're gluten free. I'm totes serious. I originally tried this recipe as a treat for my dear friend that needs a gluten free diet but I'll be making them again for sure.

I kind of cobbled this recipe together from a few I found on the web and then added the step to separate the eggs and beat the whites to lighten things up. (Gluten free baked goods always tend to be a bit heavy and I assumed this step would help.) Then I flipped over the bag of coconut flour which had a brownie recipe on the back and found my recipe to be pretty darn close to that one. Hmmmm? Funny coincidence. You can find that recipe here. I changed up the technique and temperature which I totally recommend you do. If you make then just like I have below, you'll love them.

Chocolate Pecan Florentine Cookies

This recipe has been floating around in my "To Try" recipe binder, well actually its a pile, shoved into a folder that falls out of my binder every time I pick it up. None the less, I've  hung on to this recipe, a photocopy of what looks to be torn out of a magazine, for about 15 years. Seriously 15 years. It's always looked interesting but I've never had the guts to try it. You know, make it for a friend or bring it to a pot luck untested. I've always passed it over for something more "safe". But with the most recent purge of the "To Try" binder/folder/pile I decided I needed to either try it or toss it. So, I tried it. . .

Lemon Cool Whip Cookies

OK, so, it's official: I am addicted to Pinterest. There, I said it, it's out and we're all going to have to deal with it. And when I say, "deal with it", I mean, in the next couple of weeks, you are probably going to see a lot of Pinterest inspired, Pinterest derived, and straight up Pinterest recipes on this here blog. I can't help it. I collect recipes and Pinterest is like my street pusher dealer of recipes. I'm hooked.

To start things off I wanted to try the "Cool Whip Cookies" that are all over Pinterest and the internet these days. Even though, I'm kind of "luke warm" on the whole "semi-home made" type recipes. The ones that use prepackaged mixes, doctored up freezer and canned foods, etcetera. And, yes, you've seen some of those kinds of recipes here on the blog. I didn't say I didn't like them, I just try to be cautious that they don't become a crutch. That being said, you also know, if you've been reading this blog, that I do like cake mixes. So cookies, ones that profess to be "low fat", made with cake mix, piqued my interest. Here's how it went. . .

Best of 2012 & A Gift

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I've missed you. It was a crazy holiday season and I'm just now getting back to "regular life". Whatever that is. My apologies for neglecting the blog. It's been crazy. 

First, Thanksgiving. . .

then the break in. . .

then my husband was gone for two weeks. . .

then it was Christmas. . .

then my dad visited. . .

then it was New Year's. . .

then I got sick. . .

then I got a sinus infection. . .

then I pulled jury duty. 

Whew, so glad that it's all over. I have just about two weeks to relax (ha ha ha ha) until it's birthday season around here. So, until then, I'm just going to try and take it easy. Not dive into too many projects and just slow it all down for a while. What that means is that I haven't done a lot of cooking this last week and I've decided, for my first post of the New Year, to post a "Best Of". I've also got a surprise for you. See those super cute holiday measuring spoons at the top of the post. To my delight, someone slipped those into my stocking this year. Impractical? Yep, you betcha. Adorably cute, Rightey-O! I thought they were so cute in fact that I'm going to give some away to two lucky blog readers. Check the bottom of the post for more info. In the meantime, check out the most popular posts of 2012:

Pistachio Cranberry Icebox Cookies

One of my favorite holiday traditions is baking up a bunch of treats for family, friends and neighbors. Each year I include our traditional favorites and try to throw in a few new recipes. But, this year, I've been set back a bit. The break in was upsetting to say the least and it took me a good week to settle back in and get on the holiday organizing, gift lists and treat making. So much for that "extra" week after Thanksgiving. I finally feel like I'm back "on track" and ready for some Holiday Cheer.

When I saw this recipe on Pinterest a couple of months ago, I knew I wanted to give it a try. I loved that it had cranberries and pistachios, red and green, and it just screamed "Christmas" to me. A "Slice and Bake" refrigerator cookie is so up my alley this season. I love the idea that you can make up batches of dough, weeks in advance, and then slice and bake as needed for all the various holiday parties and get togethers. I new immediately when I saw it that I'd like this recipe. What I didn't know is that I would LOVE it. Aside from the fact that it is very easy to make, I love love love the taste. The cookie itself is a tender shortbread that's not overly sweet. It has the perfect amount of cinnamon to spice it up without being a "cinnamon cookie." The pistachios and cranberries compliment each other well and then the orange zest just takes all the other flavors to the next level. Don't skip putting the crystal sugar on the outside before baking. It adds just enough sweetness and crunch. I dare say this cookie may make it onto our "traditional favorites" list. Give it a try and see if you don't agree. . .

Honey Spice Roll Out Cookies

If you live in Northern California and you're over the age of 30, you most likely remember the Nut Tree. It was just about half way from the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento and my family always stopped for lunch on our way to and from those areas. I have great memories of the "back and forth" animals, my favorite was the giraffe; watching airplanes take off from the small airport; exploring the gift shop; and eating at the Coffee Tree Restaurant across the street. As a kid I loved that they had colored crystal sugar on every table. My most favorite thing of all was the giant decorated honey cookies that were sold there. If my sisters and I were really good, my parents would buy one for each of us. There were so many designs to choose from and once you picked a cookie they would write your name on it in icing right before your very eyes. For an 8 year old, that was quite a treat.

The old Nut Tree is long gone, it's all torn down and a suburban strip mall stands where it once was. They still have the big sign but it just isn't the same. Jamba Juice, Peet's Coffee, Marshall's and other corporate strip mall standards just don't have the charm that the Nut Tree and Coffee Tree once did. But, alas, that's progress. Far be it from me to stand in the way. You can however capture a bit of the Nut Tree charm by recreating those wonderful honey cookies. I found the recipe in the newspaper several years ago and was delighted to find that they tasted exactly as I had remembered. These cookies stay soft and chewy, almost cake like, and so they pair well with the hard royal icing decoration. They are great for decorated holiday cookies, the cinnamon and clove gives them a flavor reminiscent of gingerbread. If you really want that true Nut Tree Honey Cookie, give yourself a couple of days to make these. The flavor and texture of the cookies is much better if the dough sits in the refrigerator for a couple of days. So grab your favorite cookie cutters and bring back a bit of the past. . .

Caramel Coconut Bars*

My all time favorite Girl Scout Cookie has to be the Samoa/Caramel deLites. I could eat a whole box. In fact I may have. I can neither confirm nor deny without incriminating myself. They are so, so good. Coconutty, caramely, chocolaty, short bready. All the best cookie adjectives all in one cookie. What's not to love? So, when Girl Scout Cookie Season is upon us I can't resist those cute faces and delicious treats and I buy, buy, buy. And, because the money goes to a good cause I don't feel guilty one little bit. Calories are allowed in the name of charity. Right? Right!

But, here's the delimma: What do you do when you're craving one of these scrumptious treats and it's not Cookie Season? Scream? Cry? Pound your fists in protest? Naw, you just search the web, find a recipe, and make it. STAT! So, I did. Check it out. . .

*Out of respect for the Girl Scouts, I changed the name of this recipe to "Caramel Coconut Bars".